Aussie Chef Curtis Stone on Australia's Best-Kept Secrets

The celebrity chef dishes on where to get the true Australian experience.

Curtis Stone celebrated Australia Day eve in style, nearly 10,000 miles away from his homeland at the NYC launch of Tourism Australia's latest campaign. He may have shared the stage with actor Chris Hemsworth, the new face of Australia, but the chef is a well-known ambassador as well—known for his time on Top Chef and MasterChef Australia. Taking a second to chat with Condé Nast Traveler, Stone was ready for the real excitement of the holiday to begin. "It's a great day for us," the Melbourne native told us. "Australia Day is always a lot of fun... It's a big celebration. Right about this time, because the Aussies are just waking up, your phone starts beeping and and you know that all your mates are getting together for barbecues and celebrations. It's a cool day."

Where should travelers go in Australia that's a little less known?

There is a little place right up north called the Tiwi Islands. It's an indigenous spot and you get a real sense of the Aussie culture. There are hardly any hotels up there and the flights are regional but, if you make it, the fish are huge. It's unbelievable. The culture is so rich and beautiful.

On the other side of the country, there is a reef called Ningaloo, which is a walk-on reef. So the Great Barrier reef gets all the attention and it's fantastic, but Ningaloo, in my opinion, is equally as beautiful and you can walk onto it and start snorkeling in a part of the world that's absolutely gorgeous.

We have beautiful islands all around the place. Tasmania is somewhere that you don't hear as much about, but it's beautiful. It's super lush and very green. There is great dairy down there and they make incredible cheeses, some of the best in the world in my opinion. It's amazing.

Anywhere even more remote?

You hear about the Outback and Uluru—but if you go to a place called Birdsville [in Queensland], they have a race meeting, which is a bunch of horses running around a sandy track. Literally, all the people who live in that region come to Birdsville for that one weekend. If you could ever get to a spot like that, it's unforgettable.

What great Australian restaurants should we try?

There is a guy in Melbourne, Ben Shewry, who is cooking at a place called Attica that is my favorite place to eat. He's super humble, very soulful in the way he approaches food. It's all about ingredients. He grows virtually everything that he serves.